Astros hand Dodgers largest defeat in Dodger Stadium history, with HRs by Jose Altuve and Christian Walker
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Astros hand Dodgers largest defeat in Dodger Stadium history, with HRs by Jose Altuve and Christian Walker
The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 18-1 on Friday. It was the largest defeat in Dodger Stadium history. Jose Altuve led the way with two homers, a double, four runs and five RBI. Christian Walker hit a homer for a sixth straight game at the stadium, tying a record for the longest streak by a batter on the road against a specific team in MLB history. Shohei Ohtani will start for the Dodgers against Framber Valdez in Saturday’s series opener. The game is the first of a three-game series against the Astros in Los Angeles, with the other two in Houston. The Dodgers have lost four of their last five games against the Houston Astros, all by double-digit runs.
Powered by a season-high-tying five homers (but somehow not the most homers by a team this Fourth of July), the Astros coasted to an 18-1 win in the opener of a high-profile, three-game series. The proceedings got bad enough that Dodgers fans began chanting “Start the fireworks!”
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It was Los Angeles’ largest defeat in Dodger Stadium history.
Six different Astros players scored multiple runs, with Jose Altuve leading the charge. The second baseman went 3-for-3 with two homers, a double, two walks, four runs and five RBI. He entered the game without a regular-season home run at Dodger Stadium in his career, then added a pair:
That second homer was part of a 10-run inning for the Astros, marking the first time the Dodgers allowed double-digit runs in an inning since April 23, 1999, the longest such streak in baseball. That was the game in which Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in a single inning.
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The Astros hit a grand slam in this inning, too.
All of that was at the expense of reliever Noah Davis, who was left to wear it with the game already out of reach. His final line: six hits, 10 earned runs and three walks allowed in 1 1/3 innings of work. His ERA now sits at 19.50.
The sixth inning was brutal enough that Dodgers broadcaster Orel Hershiser brought up the history of the Astros’ cheating in the 2017 World Series, cautiously remarking that the team was hitting like they knew what pitches were coming.
The only Dodgers pitcher who didn’t allow a run was infielder Miguel Rojas, who threw a scoreless ninth while down 17 runs. Casparius ended up allowing six earned runs, while Jack Dreyer and Anthony Banda yielded a single run in multiple innings of work.
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The Dodgers’ pitching staff has been depleted by injuries for basically the entire season, and the result is nights like Friday. The lone Dodgers run came on a solo homer by All-Star catcher Will Smith.
The other tormentor of the Dodgers was first baseman Christian Walker, who regularly punished the team during his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks. While he’s struggling this year, Walker entered the game slashing .341/.401/.783 at Dodger Stadium
On Friday, he hit a homer for a sixth straight game at the ballpark, tying the record for the longest streak by a batter on the road against a specific team in MLB history, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. That span includes two multi-homer games.
Walker can go for the outright record on Saturday. Per Langs, the only players with more homers in their first 43 games at a specific venue than his 20 at Chavez Ravine are Mark McGwire, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez.
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Dodgers fans at least have a better reason to tune in for Saturday, as Shohei Ohtani will take the mound against Framber Valdez for Ohtani’s fourth start since returning to pitching after UCL surgery.
Astros deliver most lopsided loss for Dodgers at Dodger Stadium
The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 18-1 on Friday, July 4. The 17-run defeat was the largest for the team in Dodger Stadium history. It was the Dodgers’ worst home loss since a 16-0 defeat to the Chicago Cubs on April 12, 2001. Clayton Kershaw celebrated his 3,000th strikeout on Wednesday, July 2.
After celebrating pitcher Clayton Kershaw’s 3,000 strikeout on Wednesday, July 2, the Dodgers were handed one of their biggest losses on Friday, July 4.
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The Houston Astros’ bats proved to be too much, delivering an 18-1 loss for the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, with the 17-run defeat representing the largest for the team in stadium history.
The Astros had already built up a 7-1 lead in the fifth inning before Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called for Noah Davis out of the bullpen. Davis struck out Mauricio Dubón to end the inning, but things didn’t get much better for the pitcher. Davis allowed 10 runs in the sixth inning.
Jose Altuve went 3-for-3 with five RBIs, four runs and two home runs for the Astros. Christian Walker went 4-for-5 with four RBIs, three runs and a home run.
“Yeah, that was one you want to flush as soon as possible,” Roberts said after the game.
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While the Dodgers did avoid being shut out on Friday night, the team had already suffered its worst home shutout loss in franchise history this season. The Chicago Cubs picked up a 16-0 victory over the Dodgers on April 12.
It was also the Dodgers’ largest defeat since suffering a 20-1 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field on May 5, 2001.
Astros vs. Dodgers highlights
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers stumble against Astros in lopsided loss on Fourth of July